| Summary: | Night worship is apparently enjoined by the Qur’an. Some night prayer is strongly enjoined on all believers. One of the five required daily prayers is scheduled for just after sunset, another about an hour later. Moreover, one month is singled out for night vigils, mainly the fast month of Ramadan. Supererogatory ritual prayer and supplication seem to have been the most common occupation of night vigils, along with qur’anic recitation. Various divisions of the night are mentioned in hadith, perhaps the most prominent to sleep for the first third of the night, keep vigil the following half, then sleep for the last sixth before arising for the dawn prayer. Notable renunciants pushed sleep deprivation to extremes, but from the late eighth century there also emerged a reaction against austerities beyond the reach of the average Muslim. From the late ninth century, Sufism called for respecting all levels of observation, including night vigils for full-time devotees, other routines for those who needed to sleep by night and work by day.
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